[--A Thousand Miles--]
by Scrat with a G
Summary: The trio stumbles across a Pokémon training camp and decide to enroll. Funny thing is, Ash can't remember where he's seen the camp director before and like usual, Brock has fallen head-over-heels for her. [Sorry it took so long for Chapter 8. *sigh*]
1. Prologue

**__**

¤~A Thousand Miles~¤

by Scrat with a G

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Prologue

Twelve-year-old Ash laughed as he sprinted ahead, leaving Misty and Brock back at the entrance of the Ilex Forest.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu as he raced alongside.

"Ash, get back here!" Misty screamed.

Ash laughed again, but paused as he heard something.

"Pikachu chu?" questioned Pikachu.

"Shh…" Ash whispered. He stood stock still and held his breath as he listened carefully. It sounded like someone shouting.

"Pi pikachu pika!" cried Pikachu. He pointed down the path.

"Coming from over there? Let's go!"

The two dashed along the path until Ash could decipher what the person was saying. He held still again and listened.

"Help! I'm lost!" the person was shouting. "I'm stuck in the trees! Can anyone hear me? Help!"

"Come on, Pikachu!" Ash cried. Ash and Pikachu ran full speed ahead into the forest, darting around trees and bushes.

Just before Ash was starting to lose hope of finding the person, he spotted a girl sitting on the ground. She was hanging her head, and there was a Pokémon in her lap.

"Excuse me, are you lost?" Ash said. The girl looked up. She smiled and stood up, spilling the Pokémon, an Eevee, onto the ground.

"Yes," she replied. "Eevee ran off, and by the time I caught up to him, we had run way off the path." She walked closer to him. "Can you show us back to the trail?"

"Sure," Ash replied. He turned and started walking back to the path, with the girl at his side. As they walked along, he got a good look at her appearance. She was wearing red pants and a black tank top. Her eyes were green, and she had short red hair… not red like Misty's, but bright, fire-engine red. She looked about a year or two older than Ash, probably about Brock's age. She was decent-looking, but not Ash's type.

"Thanks for helping me," the girl said once they reached the path. She smiled at him, then turned and walked away. The Eevee bounced along beside her.

Ash scratched his head as she walked off.

"Weird girl," he muttered.

"Pi chu," Pikachu agreed.

Just then, Misty and Brock walked up.

"Who was that, Ash?" Misty asked. Ash was definitely pleased to hear a pang of jealousy in her tone.

"It was a girl, wasn't it?" Brock begged anxiously. "What was her name? Did you get her number?"

"No, Brock. I don't know who that was," Ash replied. "I don't know." Ash sighed and the three continued on their journey.


	2. Chapter One

**__**

¤~A Thousand Miles~¤

by Scrat with a G

__

Chapter One

~*~A Year Later~*~

"Whatcha got there, Ash?" Misty asked. She peered over Ash's shoulder to try and get a look at the piece of paper he was holding.

"I found it on the bulletin board back there," Ash replied. "It's an advertisement for a Pokémon training camp."

"_A three-week overnight training camp for trainers of all ages_," Brock read off the flier. Togepi trilled excitedly.

"Sounds fun," Misty chirped. "Should we go?"

"I'm up for it," Brock said. "A little strengthening wouldn't hurt Onix or Vulpix."

"You in?" Misty asked Ash. Ash sighed.

"Oh, whatever," he agreed.

"Great!"

"Toge toge _briiii_!"

"According to the flier, the camp is only around the next fork in the road," Brock announced, jabbing a finger at the bottom of the paper.

"Pi_ka_!"

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Misty squealed. Togepi trilled in agreement.

Several minutes later, they found themselves in front of a small log cabin.

Ash snickered.

"_This_ is your amazing training camp?" he scoffed.

"Oh hush, I bet it's better once you get inside," Misty snapped.

They strolled inside. Ash was right: it wasn't much to look at. There was a girl standing at a podium in the front, and several trainers mulling about in front of her.

"Over there," Misty said. She pointed to a table at the side of the room. A sign reading _Register Here_ hung above it.

They went over and filled out the forms.

__

This is going to be so stupid, Ash thought as he filled out the papers. They included questions such as Name, Age, Main Pokémon Type (if any), etc.

"May I have your attention please?"

Everyone fell silent and turned to face the girl in the front.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Training Camp. I am Riley. I will be your supervisor while you are here," the girl said. Ash snickered. A lot of the trainers didn't look too happy at the idea of a teenage girl "supervising" them. "The rules are stated clearly on the back of your registration forms. Read them thoroughly. Now, before I assign cabins, we will start off with a few friendly battles so I can get a taste of your battle styles." She smiled. "Any questions?"

"What kind of Pokémon do you have?" asked a small boy.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Riley teased.

"How old are you?" asked one of the middle-aged men.

"Sixteen."

Several of the men snickered.

"Can I get your number?"

Obviously, that was Brock.

Ash and Misty both fell over. (a/n: You know, those entertaining little anime falls that they do when someone does something stupid, where their legs stick up in the air and twitch…)

Riley just grinned at Brock.

"If there are no more questions, we'll head out to the arena now," she announced.

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Arena? Ash scorned. _What arena? All I see is a stupid log cabin_!

Riley led the trainers out the door and to the back of the cabin, where a large battle arena was located.

"Whoa," Brock gasped.

"I never would have guessed _that_ was there," Misty breathed.

"Remember, keep it friendly," Riley said. "Hand me your registration forms."

There was a shuffling sound as everyone struggled to give Riley their papers. She quickly counted them and began pairing people off.

"Monica and Brock… Daniel and Sierra… Arianna and Misty… Brad and Ash…" She continued naming pairs.

Ash glanced around for Brad, which wasn't too difficult, since he was most likely the eight-year-old boy wearing a shirt that said BRAD across the front.

"All right, now that you all have your partners, select a portion of the arena and go to it! When you have finished, come sit up on the bleachers with me."

Riley climbed up to a seat in the middle of the bleachers while everyone split off into their groups.

"You ready?" Brad chimed.

"I was born ready," Ash replied. He turned his hat backwards. "Let's do this."


	3. Chapter Two

**_¤~A Thousand Miles~¤_**

**by Scrat with a G**

_Chapter Two_

"Go! GOLDEEN!" Brad cried.

"Go get, 'em, Pikachu!"

"_Pika_!" cried Pikachu as he darted forward.

"Goldeen, Water Gun!"

"Pikachu, Thundershock!"

"CHUUUUUUU!"

Golden flopped to the ground, unconscious.

"Oh no!" Brad squeaked. "Geodude, go!"

"Come on back, Pikachu!" Ash cried. "Go, Squirtle!"

A red light issued from within the Pokéball Ash was holding and a Squirtle materialized before him.

"Geodude, Tackle!"

"Quick, Squirtle, use Hydro Pump!"

"_Squirtle_!" Before Geodude could do a thing, a great volume of water pumped from Squirtle's mouth, knocking the Pokémon unconscious.

"Darn!" Brad cried. "That was my last Pokémon!"

"Good game," Ash said, turning his hat back around. "Squirtle, return."

Having finished his last battle, Ash trooped up to the bleachers where Riley was sitting. He was pleased to see that only Brock had finished before him.

"What's your full name?" asked a lovestruck Brock.

"Riley Kaji," she replied absentmindedly as she scribbled something on a notepad.

"_Riley Kaji_," Brock repeated. "_That's so beautiful… Just like her_!"

Ash rolled his eyes.

"That girl down there with the red hair has a very nice battle style," Riley commented. "Very… energetic."

"Yeah," Ash agreed, watching Misty. "She can be feisty!" He laughed. Riley chuckled softly. Ash watched Misty beat Psyduck over the head repeatedly as he tried to remember where he'd seen Riley before. He definitely recognized her bright red hair. I mean, who wouldn't? It was the same color as the hearts pounding out of Brock's eyes at the moment. But where had he seen her? Maybe he'd spotted her at a Pokémon Center along the way? Or maybe she was at Erika's Gym when it burnt down? Or perhaps he had never seen her before, and she was only a figment of his imagination? In any case, Brock was still babbling on about Riley's "immense beauty," etc., etc. Riley didn't seem to notice.

One by one, the battles eventually ended. Once everyone had finished, Riley grouped everyone together into cabins according to gender and age.

"Now, I have to go do some paperwork to make this all pretty and legal," she announced. "You all make yourselves comfortable until dinner. And yes, I have food for your Pokémon." She turned to hop off the bleachers. "And remember – no battling without my supervision."

Several people groaned.

"Ta-ta!" She grinned and dashed off.

"No battling without supervision?" Ash whined.

"She's trying to keep _you_ from hurting yourself," Misty teased. He scowled.

_She's so cute when she torments me…_ He paused. _Did I just think that?_

"Her birthday's in April!" Brock announced. Ash sweatdropped. Misty grabbed Brock by the back of his shirt and dragged him off.

"Come on, Romeo…"

(a/n: Look, Ara! I found the chapter! Guess where it was? In the notebook that I had written it in! ^_^;; Anyway… please review, because I love reviews! And if you have some extra time on your hands, please please PLEASE review my All My Children fics. I would worship you forever if you did. It's a soap opera, so there's only like 40 fics in that section, and thus, no one ever reads anything. Please? Also, I'm taking one of Ara's ideas and I think I might write bloopers for this after I'm done… if you guys like the idea, of course, and if Ara doesn't mind. ^-^)


	4. Chapter Three

**__**

¤~A Thousand Miles~¤

by Scrat with a G

__

Chapter Three

Ash and Brock began heading over to the boys' cabins on the south end of the arena, while Misty made her way to the girls' cabins on the north side.

"Her favorite color is orange," Brock sang.

"Brock, do you think you could act your age and not your shoe size if we have to room together?" Ash asked.

"But she's so beautiful!" Brock gushed. "I think I'm in love!"

"Yeah, I get that," Ash replied. "But it gets really, really annoying after a while."

"I'll try," Brock said. The color was receding from his cheeks. "…But how can I resist her?"

Ash rolled his eyes and opened the door to the middle cabin. There were already two boys their age in the cabin, having claimed two of the top bunks already. They were laughing and joking with each other from their cots. Ash and Brock wordlessly claimed their bunks – Ash chose a top one, and Brock selected the one underneath Ash's.

Just as they were getting settled, Riley's voice rang out over the intercom that was hooked up inside the cabins.

"Dinnertime," she announced. "Report to the mess hall in five minutes." She ended the transmission with a faint crackling sound and a click.

Brock and Ash, along with the two boys, left the cabin and walked to the mess hall, which was the same building they had registered in, according to their new roommates. During the walk, the boys introduced themselves as Jesse and Chris. Jesse was fifteen and Chris was seventeen, and they were best friends.

Once they were inside, Ash noticed that instead of a bunch of chairs scattered across the floor, there were now four or five circular tables lined up neatly, with five chairs surrounding them. The four boys took their seats. Misty showed up not too long afterward.

"Hey, Ash, hey, Brock," she greeted them. "I see you've made some new friends!"

"Yeah, this is Jesse and this is Chris," Ash introduced them. Jesse had blonde hair and green eyes, and was about Ash's height, and Chris had brown eyes and hair to match that was spiked in about every possible direction. Not counting his hair, he was about an inch taller than Jesse.

"Nice to meet you!" Misty chirped.

"You too," Chris agreed. He and Jesse smiled.

"I'll go get the food," Misty volunteered, noticing that Riley had just set out the trays with the large bowls of spaghetti and the pitchers of milk. She got up and retrieved the tray.

"Do you want me to go grab some food for our Pokèmon?" Brock asked.

"Sure, sure," Ash replied. This would give him some more time to ponder over where he'd seen Riley before. He had barely been thinking for more than half a minute when Chris interrupted his thoughts.

"Whatcha thinking 'bout?"

"Oh, nothing," Ash sighed. Misty had just returned with the food. Ash spooned some spaghetti onto his plate and passed the bowl to Jesse.

He was about halfway through his spaghetti when he noticed that Brock hadn't come back yet.

"Where's Brock?" he asked aloud.

"I dunno. Did you send him to get anything?"

"Yeah, he went to go get food for the Pokèmon," Ash replied. He glanced over at the table containing the Pokèmon food. Brock was leaning on it with one hand, and was flirting frantically with Riley. Riley looked terribly frightened. "Oh no," Ash moaned. He abandoned his meal and dashed over to Brock.

"So, Riley, wanna go grab some dinner with me tomorrow night?" Brock was saying.

"I, um, have paperwork to do tomorrow…" Riley covered, trying to get away.

"Brock!" Ash shouted. He shook his head and said, softer, "Let's leave Riley alone. You're frightening her…" He grabbed Brock by the wrist and dragged him back to the table.

Once Ash had succeeded in getting his friend back to his seat (which, let me assure you, wasn't an easy task), Brock passed some of the camp Pokèmon food around. Ash offered some to Pikachu, who took it greedily before dumping half a bottle of ketchup on it and messily devouring it.

Jesse extended some food to his Furret, and Chris did the same to his Girafarig. (a/n: I gave Chris a Girafarig because I noticed this morning that Chris from Dream Street has an unusually long neck… mwahaha.)

Once everyone had finished their meals, Riley took her place at the podium once again and announced, "May I have your attention please?"

Everyone turned to face her.

"You may spend the next couple of hours doing whatever you want. Lights out in four hours, at ten o'clock. Remember, no battling without my supervision. We will begin the actual training tomorrow after breakfast," she told them. "That's all."

There was a frenzy as everyone struggled to be the first to bus their trays and dishes to the counter. Ash and Company waited until everyone had finished killing each other in the process, then Misty calmly took up their tray, stepping over the unconscious bodies, and they left the mess hall.

"Hey, any of you wanna battle?" Chris suggested.

"Riley said not to battle without supervision," Brock pointed out.

"Has that ever stopped me before?" Chris asked Jesse, who shook his head. He looked back at the three. "Do you always follow rules?"

"Usually." Ash crossed his arms.

"Chicken!" Chris teased. He folded his arms under his armpits, like wings, and flapped them around while making clucking sounds. Ash scowled.

"I'm not chicken, and I'll prove it!" he said loudly. "Go, Charizard!"

"Girafarig, I choose you!"

Both of their Pokèmon had been released, and were glaring at each other with an expression of intense hatred as they waited for their trainers to give them the first command…

(a/n: Hey, look, Ara, I made another chapter! Whee! And before you ask, yes, Jesse and Chris are modeled off of Jesse and Chris from Dream Street. I couldn't resist. But no, I'm not going to make Riley fall in love with Jesse. It'd get redundant, even for me. Okay, I'm done babbling now. So review. I don't care if you just say "hi" as long as you review. And remember –- lots of nice reviews get you A/M fluff!)


	5. Chapter Four

**__**

¤~A Thousand Miles~¤

by Scrat with a G

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Chapter Four

Ash glared at Chris, who glared right back at him.

"Girafarig, Psychic!"

"Charizard, use Flamethr-"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Huh?!" Both Ash and Chris turned to see who was yelling at them. Ash paled when he saw Riley standing there, tapping her foot with her arms folded. She was looking at them with one eyebrow raised.

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Uh oh, Ash thought. He recalled Charizard and grinned innocently at Riley. Chris did the same with his Girafarig. _I'm in for it now_…

"I thought I had made it clear not to battle without my supervision," she said calmly. Behind Chris, Jesse stifled a snicker. Ash stared at the ground. Misty was looking at him smugly, as if she were dying to say_ I told you so!_ And, naturally, Brock was looking as though he were about to faint. "Don't do it again." She walked off.

"Pi_ka_!" Pikachu laughed.

"Hush, Pikachu."

"See ya around," Chris said. He and Jesse walked off, laughing.

"Don't let them get to you, Ash," Misty told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Ash felt his whole body tingle at her touch. "They're just going to get you into trouble."

"Yeah…" Ash agreed softly.

"Besides," Misty continued. "You're gonna end up hurting yourself!" She laughed and punched his shoulder lightly.

"Hey!"

"Its true!"

While Ash and Misty argued, Brock tiptoed after Riley, who was headed to her cabin. He waited until she was inside, then he peered in the window.

The cabin looked exactly the same as everyone else's from the outside, except for the fact that it was behind the mess hall, not by the arena. Inside, however, there was one bed, not a cot or three sets of bunk-beds, and in the corner was a desk with lots of paperwork scattered haphazardly all over the surface. There was a computer placed on the far edge, and a cheap desk-lamp lit up the registration records. A small stereo system was hooked up on a shelf just above and to the left of Riley's bed. A light bulb hung from a bare wire in the middle of the ceiling, dimly lighting the room.

Riley grabbed the remote, which had been laying on her bed, and turned the stereo on. She flicked through a couple of tracks on a CD, then pressed play and turned up the volume a bit. Brock could clearly hear the music through the thin glass of the window.

****

Oh, I get a high whenever you're around, sweeping from my head to my toes, I gotta get my feet back on the ground… Lyrics blasted out of the speakers. **Cause you make me go out of my way, crossing the line, making me say what I have in mind…** Brock watched as Riley shifted through a pile of papers, selected one of them, and, sitting on the edge of her bed, began studying it. **You make me so excited, and I don't wanna fight it, I start to blush, you are my sugar rush, ain't nothing better baby, is it for real or maybe, I'm losing touch, you are my sugar rush…** She finished reading the paper. She crossed the room and placed it back in the stack. She tamped the stack on the desk to neaten it and set it back down.** I got a sweet tooth and a taste for you, and it might be too obvious but, I can't help myself from what I do… **Brock watched Riley crouch down, reach under her bed, and pull out some clothing. Probably her pajamas, judging by the cut of the cloth in the pants and the shirt. The pants were baggy with a drawstring around the waist. They were blue camouflage, and the shirt was a plain white tanktop. **Cause you make me go out of my way, crossing the line, making me say what I have mind…**

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Oh no… she's getting undressed… I can't watch that! Brock thought. He tore his eyes away and crouched under the window, covering his face with his hands.

****

You make… I don't… You are… Cause there ain't… For real… You are… Once Brock was sure she was fully clothed, he peered back in the window. She was sitting at the desk in her pajamas, looking over the papers and randomly scribbling things in the margin with a pencil. Occasionally, she would cross two lines through a word and start over. **Baby you're my sugar rush, I get weak and talk too much, you're the sweetest thing I've ever tasted…**

Brock spent almost three hours watching Riley, until he noticed that it was past sunset, and it was becoming difficult to see outside. Reluctant to leave, Brock crept along on all fours until he was sure Riley wouldn't be able to see him, then sprinted back to his cabin. He pushed the door open silently to find his cabinmates all still awake.

Chris was sitting on his bunk with his feet dangling in the air, listening to music on his headphones. His eyes closed, he bobbed his head with the beat of the music. Jesse was played Solitaire with a deck of cards on his bunk. The cards had a pattern of Shellder on the back. Ash was reading a book, with Pikachu asleep on his lap.

"So nice of you to join us, Brock," Jesse commented, not looking up from his card game. He moved three cards into a different column and turned another card on its face.

"Stalking your crushes now, are we?" Ash said. A tiny grin spread across his face. Brock didn't say anything. He went over to his bunk and took off his shirt, exposing his muscled chest.

"I just experienced the best three hours of my life," Brock said softly. A dreamy look crossed his face. "Watching Riley through her window."

"Wow, I just had the best three hours of my life too!" Ash laughed. "You weren't here!" he teased.

"Shut up." Brock chucked his pillow up in the air, arcing it so it would land on Ash.

"Thank you," came Ash's muffled-yet-sarcastic voice from beneath the pillow.

"Pi pika," Pikachu complained. Ash tossed the pillow on the floor. Just as Brock picked it back up and set it back in its position at the top of his bed, Riley's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Lights out in ten minutes, I repeat, lights out in ten minutes," she announced. "Thank you!"

Jesse, Ash and Brock began a scramble to get into the tiny one-person bathroom first to brush their teeth. Chris was still on his bed, listening to his music. Ash won the race and was taking his time with the task, just to annoy his roommates. Brock stood just outside of the bathroom, leaning on the doorframe casually. Jesse threw a pillow at Chris to get his attention.

"Dude, Chris," Jesse said once Chris had removed his headphones. "Lights out in ten minutes. You might wanna start getting ready." Chris hopped down from his bunk and began changing into his pajamas.

Five minutes later, after everyone had finished brushing their teeth and putting on their pajamas, there was a knock on the door. Brock answered it.

Riley was standing there, in her pajamas and fluffy blue slippers. She grinned at him.

"Just making sure you guys were getting ready to go to sleep." She peered around his bare shoulders to see Jesse just hopping onto his bunk, and Ash allowing Pikachu to snuggle under his blankets. "Remember, I'm waking everyone up at seven tomorrow, so get a good night's rest. I'm gonna go check on the girls' cabins now. Night!" She walked off.

"…Night," Brock replied softly, feeling his knees go wobbly. He shut the door, turned off the light, and climbed into his bed.

(a/n: You like? Then review!)


	6. Chapter Five

**__**

¤~A Thousand Miles~¤

by Scrat with a G

__

Chapter Five

The next morning, at precisely 7:00 am, Riley turned on the intercom. The entire camp was woken up to odd music that made you want to dance, thus preventing anyone from falling back asleep.

****

Wanna rock you steady baby, come on now let's go crazy, you know the time is right so let's get funky tonite, everybody's letting go now, it's time to start the show now, get ready, hold on tight and let's get funky tonite…

Ash groggily arose from his uncomfortable bunk. The white cotton sheets were damp with sweat. He had been dreaming about Misty again. He couldn't remember the dream, but Misty had definitely been in it. Ash had been have a lot of those dreams lately – where he would dream about her, then wake up sweating and unable to remember anything about it.

After Ash and Brock got dressed, they noticed Jesse and Chris refused to awaken and had buried their heads under their pillows and tucked the corners of their thin blankets underneath their bodies, despite the volume of their alarm. They were easily awakened with a jolt of electricity at Ash's command.

Ash and Brock dragged themselves to breakfast, leaving Jesse and Chris to fend for themselves. Misty was already munching on her oatmeal at the table they had eaten dinner at the night before when they got there.

The two boys had just finished their meals when they found Riley at the podium once again. Her red hair was tousled a little, as if she'd been up all night and was just too lazy to comb it. She was wearing jeans and a plain bright yellow sleeveless shirt.

Brock fell out of his seat, staring up at her as if she were an angel sent from heaven, as she commanded everyone's attention. Once everyone was listening, she gazed around the room.

"I'm glad to see everyone is here – except… oh dear… where is the rest of cabin five?" She looked over at Ash. "They'll miss the first lesson." She looked at Ash with a tiny smile on her face, as if to ask him where they were.

"Don't know, don't care."

"…Ah. Of course," she continued. "As I was saying." Her voice lost its friendly touch. "Yesterday was just a warm-up. _Today_ begins the _real_ training."

Ash gulped. He didn't like the way she said that…

"Not only will your Pokémon be trained for battle, but _you_ will be as well. Physically, mentally, emotionally. When I'm finished with you, you're gonna feel like you could join the Elite Four," she told them. "Also," she added. "At the end of our three weeks together, I will select the one who has progressed the most to battle me for the championship."

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Battle? _Championship_? Things were definitely starting to perk Ash's interest up. He thanked whoever it was that had blessed him with selective hearing.

"My friend Kyree is passing around the sheet that lists all the assignments for today. You will spend the equivalent of one week in each of the categories. You will rotate each day. I am the instructor for the Physical course, Kyree Emotional, and Ara is Mental." She paused, realizing how odd that sounded. A few people laughed.

At the mention of their names, Kyree and Ara looked up and gave the room a tiny wave from where they were standing. Kyree had already handed a copy of the assignment sheet to each of the tables and was standing next to the girl who must have been Ara. Kyree looked about Riley's age, except she was two or three inches taller, with blondish hair with a red tint, and the same green eyes as Riley. Ara must have been a year or two younger than Riley and Kyree, about Ash's age. She had light brown hair that reached her shoulders and hazel eyes.

It was then that Misty passed Ash the assignment sheet. He glanced down to the section that listed the arrangements for cabin five. A bold letter P meant Physical, M for Mental and E stood for Emotional.

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Ketchum, Ash – **E**

McCartney, Jesse – **M**

Slate, Brock – **P**

Trousdale, Christopher – **M**

That meant that none of Ash's classes would be with his cabinmates. He didn't know whether to celebrate or be sad. He didn't need to guess whether or not Brock would be happy – Riley would be teaching his first lesson.

At the bottom of the page, it noted the order that everyone would rotate in – Physical to Mental to Emotional and back to Physical.

Ash sighed to himself. He looked at the listings for Misty, under cabin two. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the red letter E next to her name. He tried not to seem to excited as he passed the sheet to Brock.

One hour later, Ash found himself sitting in a circle in the middle of the grass, with Misty next to him.

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This is going to be so lame… Ash thought skeptically._ Why do we have to train our emotions?_

"Because, Mr. Ketchum," Kyree replied as she stepped in between two middle-aged women and stood in the center of the circle. "Your emotions play a big part in battling."

__

I hate it when people read my thoughts… he grumbled in his mind. Pikachu giggled.

"Get used to it." She turned to face the rest of the group. "Now, can anyone tell me why we need to control our emotions?"

A girl of about nineteen raised her hand. Kyree pointed at her briefly, allowing her hand to fall back to her thigh.

"Because," the girl began. "Say you're battling with this really cute guy that you have a crush on. If you really like him, you might go soft on him and lose the battle, thus hurting your Pokémon."

"Also for the exact opposite reason," Kyree told them. "If you're battling an _enemy_, you may fight too hard and further injure your Pokémon." She glanced around with a wise air to her tone. "Pokémon are not tools of war," she reminded them.

Ash sighed. He'd heard this lecture a million times before.

"All we are going to be doing for today," Kyree continued, "is meditating while I read your thoughts and tell you what you need to concentrate on while you're here."

__

Grand.

"We'll start with you." Kyree pointed at a girl of about eleven. "The rest of you can mill about over there, and I'll call you over one by one."

Ash rolled his eyes. Misty stood up and offered a hand to Ash to help him up. His fingertips tingled as their hands met. The two walked over to the area that Kyree had pointed out. Pikachu followed. Misty began gushing about how positively wonderful it was here, how much she was going to learn, how many friends she had made, yadda yadda yadda, but Ash wasn't listening. He was still pondering why this was worth any of his time.

Before he knew it, Kyree was calling him over. Like a robot, his feet obeyed her command and he staggered over.

"Sit on the ground," she instructed. He complied. "Now," came her kind voice, "close your eyes. Free your mind. Let yourself become caught in the wind."

Ash rolled his eyes to himself, but did as he was told. A moment later, he was flying above the mountains, like a graceful Pidgeot, soaring in between the clouds. Misty was next to him.

"Hi, Ash!" she giggled. Her voice seemed echo-y and far away, but he took no notice. She flew closer. They both landed on a mountainside. He embraced her and leaned in to kiss her—

"Very interesting."

Kyree's voice interrupted his thoughts. And he had been having such a good dream too! He had been flying, and then… what had happened? Ash sighed. Once again, he couldn't remember. He shook his head.

"What's interesting?"

"Oh, nothing really. You're free to go now." She smiled.

"I thought you were going to tell us what we needed to work on?" Ash reminded her.

"Yes, but I think you'll be able to work this one out on your own," she replied. "Now get out of here before I sic Riley on you."

Ash's eyes widened and he quickly scampered away.

"Misty Waterflower!"

"Wish me luck!" she chirped to Ash as she made her way over to Kyree. He watched her sit down, place her hands on her knees, and close her eyes, just as he had. Kyree muttered something to her, and she drifted off silently, with a content look on her face. She looked so peaceful, like she was having a dream, yet she was still conscious.

Before he knew it, Misty had bounded back over. 

"How'd it go?" Ash asked, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, great," Misty replied. "She told me what I needed to work on, and she gave me some advice."

There was a silence as they looked at each other for a moment, until they both blushed at the same time and looked away.

"Hey, let's go see how Brock's doing!" Misty suggested. Before Ash could say anything, she grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him into the woods, which, on the other side, led to Riley's area. She plunked him down in the brush on the edge of the forest. "Sit. Stay."

"Uh… okay…"

She sat next to him. Pikachu caught up a few seconds later, breathing heavily. Ash allowed the small Pokémon to take refuge in his lap as he and Misty watched Riley shout commands at her class, who were all suited up in military fatigues and were doing jumping jacks. Brock was trying to impress her by doing his jumping jacks double-speed, which only made Riley yell at him for throwing everyone else off. Brock, of course, wasn't fazed a bit.

When they were finished with their jumping jacks, Riley told them that they were going to run around the entire camp, with one of their Pokémon, to conclude their warm-ups. Ash laughed as Brock tried to run faster than the rest of them, but tripped and fell on his face. Before long, the last of the trainers had disappeared, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.

Ash and Misty sat in the foliage for a few minutes in silence. Pikachu was fast asleep in Ash's lap. Ash was staring off into space with a dreamy look on his face as he daydreamed about Misty. Suddenly, he was shaken out of his fantasy as he felt something pressing on his lips. He blinked a few times to shake himself back into reality, only to find Misty kissing him lightly.

a/n: Gaah! I'm so bad at fluff… Forgive me…


	7. Chapter Six

**__**

¤~A Thousand Miles~¤

by Scrat with a G

__

Chapter Six

When Misty pulled away, both their faces were bright red.

"What was that for?" Ash asked.

Misty hesitated before answering. "I – I just like you, Ash Ketchum," she said quietly. A tiny smile hovered on her lips.

Ash felt his heart explode with happiness, but he tried not to let on. Instead, he vented his feelings by returning the kiss, just as passionately.

When he was finished, he pulled back, only to realize that Pikachu had woken up, and was staring at the two. His normally-yellow face was a faint shade of green, and a large drop of sweat had appeared on his temple.

"Pikaaaa…"

"Oh, hush, Pikachu," Ash snapped, quite embarrassed. He got up, helped Misty up, then stormed back to the camp grounds, still mortified.

That night, just after dinner, everyone was heading back to their cabins. Riley was near the edge of the huge group, about to split off in her separate direction toward her cabin.

Suddenly, a loud whirring noise could be heard as a helicopter flew overhead, blocking out the sun to create a lovely darkening effect. Several people gasped and looked up, rather stupidly. Ash, Misty, and Brock, being the relatively smart ones, remained staring straight ahead and continued walking.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!" A girl with long, red hair similar to that of Riley's hopped out of the helicopter and landed nimbly on her boot-clad feet.

"James!" A boy with blue hair the same length as Riley's followed, holding a red rose in one hand.

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

A small white cat-like Pokèmon with a yellow coin attached to its forehead jumped in between the two Team Rocket members.

"Meeeeeowth, dat's right!"

Misty rolled her eyes. "Not this again."

"Don't you three ever get tired of this?" Ash asked.

James sighed. "You're ruining the moment!"

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Shut up, James, let's just get this over with."

"Wow… look at all dose trainers!" Meowth exclaimed. "Dere bound ta have tons of Pokèmon!"

Brock sighed exasperatedly. "Here we go again…"

"Wait," James said. "I thought we just wanted the Pikachu?"

"There's no such thing as too much of a good thing," Jessie pointed out.

"I told you that this place would be like hitting the jackpot!" Meowth cried. "Let's go to it!"

"Yay!" James squealed as Jessie whipped out a large remote control and pressed the only button on the front. An enormous magnet popped out of the helicopter and began sucking all the Pokèballs out of the trainers' pockets.

"I'll take dis," Meowth said as he snatched Pikachu and put him in a small, cardboard box lined with rubber.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried, rushing forward. Misty and Brock both calmly placed a hand on each of his shoulders to hold him back.

"Ash, haven't you learned anything from these idiots?" Brock began.

"They never can pull anything off like this," Misty continued for him.

"But what if they pull it off this time?" Ash cried, panicking. "Pikachu!"

Misty and Brock both rolled their eyes.

"Don't worry, Ash," Misty reassured him. "I'm sure some brave person will step forward and save our Pokèmon."

"LIKE WHO? THEY'VE ALREADY TAKEN EVERYONE'S POKÈMON!" Ash shouted.

"Not mine." Riley stepped around two sobbing grown men and looked at Jessie and James with a determined look on her face. She tossed a Pokèball up and down in her hand.

Jessie smirked. "What have you got there, little girl?"

"Go, Aesta!" Riley hurled the Pokèball in front of her. A red light issued from the ball and a Flareon materialized. All three of the Team Rocket members' faces paled. "Aesta, Flamethrower!" (a/n: I haven't played Pokèmon or watched the show in ages, so I dunno is Flareon is compatible with that attack. If it is, then great. If it isn't, then bear with me.)

Aesta opened her mouth, and a blast of fire whirled towards the two white-and-red-clad humans and the cat Pokèmon, sending them flying into the air, scorched to a crisp.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaaaaaaain…"

"See?" Misty said. "I told you someone would save our Pokèmon."

Spotting the remote control on the ground, Riley depressed the large cartoon-ish red button. The magnet deactivated and all the Pokèballs fell to the ground. There was a scramble as everyone rushed to retrieve their Pokèmon.

Glomping his five Pokèballs, containing a Vulpix, an Onix, a Geodude, a Crobat and a Pineco, Brock rushed up to Riley eagerly.

"Wow, you just handled them so well, you're amazing…" Brock continued to babble while Riley patted Aesta on the head and nonchalantly called her back into her Pokèball.

"Okay, everyone," Riley said loudly. She stood and faced the large group to get their attention. Everyone fell silent. "In your cabins. Lights out at normal time. You'll be getting up at seven again tomorrow for your normal activities."

Everyone groaned and began trudging back to their respective cabins. Brock, however, hung back. He was about to go over and attempt to congratulate Riley once more, but Ara got to her first. The two were conversing in low, inaudible whispers. Riley nodded a few times as Ara spoke, then bit her lip in worry.

"Aight, I got it," she said to Ara. Ara smiled weakly and walked off. Riley tucked her hair behind her ear, like she did when she was worried or nervous, then began walking back to her cabin. Brock jogged over to catch up.

"Riley?" he called softly.

She turned and glanced back at him. "Oh, hello, Brock." She turned back and continued walking.

"Riley, what's wrong? I saw you talking to Ara a minute ago, and you looked worried."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Brock, it's nothing." She gave him a weak smile.

"It didn't seem like nothing," he pressed.

"You're sweet to care, but its no big deal," she assured him. "Now go back to your cabin."

"Riley, tell me what's wrong," Brock insisted, not moving. Riley sighed and turned back around.

"Well, Ara… she's the one that handles all the financial stuff with this camp, and she was just telling me that at the end of this session, we were going to have to close down, because we aren't doing so well." She shrugged. "That's all."

"I'm sorry, Riley…" He moved forward to take her in his arms, but she jerked away.

"No, Brock, I don't need your pity."

"Pity?" Brock repeated.

"I'll be fine, Brock." She turned and stormed off to her cabin.

Brock just stood there, staring into oblivion. What in the world had just happened?

****

a/n: Okay, normally I just end like that or with an author's note consisting primarily of me explaining things or ranting and complaining. But I decided to copy Ara Moon and ask you a couple questions:

1 – Did you like the light Ash/Misty fluff at the beginning of this chapter? I'm afraid I'm not very good at it.

2 – WHO HERE LIKES SQUINTSHIPPING, RAISE YOUR HAND! *raises hand and waves it around frantically* (Hint: Squintshipping = Brock/Riley. You can also find Squintshipping in Ara Moon's story, _Never the Same_, between Brock [Takeshi] and my character, Scrat. ^^)

3 – What do you want in the next chapter? (Be realistic please.)

And now, I leave you with the wise words of Scrat-chan:

****

YOZ LUFF MEH

--Scrat


	8. Chapter Seven

**__**

¤~A Thousand Miles~¤

by Scrat with a G

__

Chapter Seven

(a/n: *reads Ara-chan's review and feeds Xing to Aesta for her* There. ^_^ Okay, now… onward to chapter whatever-I'm-on-now! SING THE THEME SONG! SWAG S-W-A-G SWAG SWAGGITY SWAG SWAG S-W-A-G SCRAT WITH A G *ponders dance routine for theme song*)

Feeling rather confused, Brock shook his head and slowly walked back to his cabin. Ash, Jesse, and Chris were all sitting on their respective bunks. Pikachu was rolling his eyes at his master, who was trying to impress Jesse and Chris by telling them how he defeated Brock back in Pewter City – except he was altering the whole experience to include a completely dominating Pikachu and a crying-like-a-baby Brock. Jesse and Chris were totally buying it, until…

"Ash, I do recall a sprinkler system going off somewhere in there," Brock pointed out. Ash sweatdropped and his cheeks turned red. He hadn't heard his older friend come in. Chris and Jesse snickered quietly.

"Uh, yeah, um, about that…"

"Never mind," Brock interrupted. "You can stay up, but keep it down. I'm going to bed." He climbed into his bunk and fell asleep.

The next morning, the four boys were awakened to the same song blasting out of the speakers as the previous morning. 

"Hey, Brock?" Ash said as he applied toothpaste to his pink toothbrush.

"Hmm?"

"I think I'm beginning to learn the words to this song…" Ash commented. He began brushing his teeth.

"That's great, Ash," Brock replied.

"Geez, what's with you today?" said Ash, forgetting that he had his toothbrush in his mouth. He accidentally sprayed his comrade with bits of foam. Brock irritatedly wiped the toothpaste off his face.

"Nothing. Riley's just kind of upset, and I'm worried about her. That's all."

"Ooh. Riley teaches the physical section of the camp, doesn't she?" Ash inquired. Brock nodded.

"Hai."

Ash nodded. "Come on, let's get to breakfast," he suggested, eager to see Misty.

An hour later, right after breakfast, Ash found himself sitting in a straight line in the grass, on the other side of the trees that he and Misty had been in yesterday. He blushed, remembering the kiss they had shared there, but he didn't have much time to reminisce. Riley appeared in front of him, dressed in the same military fatigues that Ash and Misty, as well as the rest of the class, were wearing. She looked very tired and stressed, but appeared to be trying to hide it.

"Good morning," Riley began. "Welcome to the physical portion of this camp." She began pacing back and forth. Ash had to admit; Riley looked pretty good in camouflage. Brock must have been in heaven. "Here, you will be tested in every aspect of your flexibility, agility and strength."

Riley continued to inform the campers about her class, while Ash watched Misty out of the corner of his eye. She was diligently watching Riley, hanging on to her every word.

"And now," Riley finished. "We will start off today's lesson with a few laps. Pick a Pokèmon to run with."

Ash silently pondered which Pokèmon to use. Pikachu was easily the fastest, so Ash decided he would use the electric Pokèmon.

Ash stood with Pikachu next to him. Misty had decided on Starmie. Riley had already brought her Flareon out and was stretching her calf muscles. Ash waited while the other trainers had selected their fastest Pokèmon. When everyone was finished, Riley announced, "Ready! Set! GO!"

She took off with her Flareon, who was easily keeping pace with her. Everyone stood, staring at Riley like she was crazy.

"Well, Pikachu, let's go!" He and Pikachu took off running, but about halfway around the camp, Ash began to slow down. "Pikachu… slow down… I-I'm tired… And the group is gonna trample me…"

"Pikaaaa," Pikachu encouraged him.

~*~

At the end of the lesson that day, Riley said to them, "Good work everyone. I'll see you at dinner. Oh, and I expect you've learned that, the faster your Pokèmon is, the faster you have to run. Dismissed."

Misty helped Ash up and they headed to dinner, both too bone-weary to change out of their fatigues. Every muscle in his body ached, every joint was creaking with each movement.

"I just want to take some aspirin and go to sleep," Misty moaned as she served herself some potatoes.

"Pika pi chu," Pikachu agreed.

Jesse and Chris joined them shortly, but Brock was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, Chris?"

"Yeah, Ash?" Chris said through a mouthful of broccoli.

"Do you know where Brock is?"

Chris gestured to the other side of the room with his spork, where Brock was pleading with Riley over something, and resumed eating.

__

He looks busy… I won't bother him. Besides, I'm too exhausted to get up, Ash thought, sweatdropping.

"Riley, please," Brock begged. "Please just talk to me. You're upset and I'm here to listen."

"You just think I'm pretty," Riley replied. She put a roll on her tray and walked off to her table. Brock followed.

"Yes, I do, but I'm willing to get to know you," he insisted. Riley didn't say anything as she took her seat. Brock sat in the chair next to her. "Why don't you trust me?"

Riley sighed and put down her fork. "Do you really want to know, Brock?"

He nodded. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then hesitated. She sighed again. "I'll spare you the gory details. Let's just say I don't trust guys very easily anymore. Please just leave me alone, Brock. Please." She stood and walked off, leaving her dinner behind.

Brock watched her leave. She passed the girl he had seen her with the other night, Ara. She was glomping a tall, scared-looking boy with dark blonde hair as she spoke to Riley. Riley nodded to her friend and continued out the door.

"…Was it something I said?" Brock wondered.

He picked up her roll and took a bite out of it.

(a/n: Eee! See, Ara? I put Shaun-glomping in there, just for you. *pushes Xing out a second story window* Ooh. Wait – didn't I feed him to Aesta at the beginning of the chapter? Oh, well. Bwahaha. Aaaanyway, sorry it took so long for me to post this chapter. I had to put it on hiatus due to a severe Pokéblock. Nrah. Pleeeeease write me pretty reviews so I'll be motivated to write more. Also, just 'cause I'm curious, what do you think is going to happen with all of this?)


End file.
